Nezu's dark eyes reflected the televised image.
The Hero Public Safety Commission President stood before a sea of microphones, her missing arm hidden beneath the tailored sleeve pinned neatly at the shoulder. "It seems she has no plans to defend herself," Nezu said.
Aizawa frowned. "Then what is she doing."
"Listen for yourself," Nezu replied. "It's being broadcast on every emergency channel."
Aizawa pulled the phone from his ear and tapped the speaker. In Nezu's office, her complexion was pale on screen, and her clear loss of an arm was broadcast for all to see. Clearly an attempt to incite pity.
Too bad. "Was the operation authorized?"
"Why were so many heroes gathered involved in a raid with such a worrying lack of intel?"
"What do you have to say concerning your gross mistake that led to the loss of Forty plus heroes?"
"Sources declare from several heroes that you specifically ignored All Might's warnings and proceeded with the raid on the league of villains. Please comment."
Reporters shouted over one another. As for her current display? They couldn't give a crap. These people to an extent, could heap pressure and target an innocent boy who had done nothing and All Might who had fought for them, all for a few headlines. The Madame President of the HPSC who authorized this mess in the first place?
In the current state of the country, the media couldn't give two fucks about that title. Hence, per usual operations dialed up to eleven, they bombarded her with no room for leniency. The woman on screen did not flinch, answering every question. She acknowledged the tragedy in three sentences. Accepted institutional responsibility in one. Then turned the entire statement forward.
"The Hero Commission will conduct a full and transparent review of the decisions made during the Kamino engagement. That review will be thorough. It will be public. And it will happen while we are simultaneously rebuilding the infrastructure that four thousand heroes depend on to do their work."
"Japan does not have the luxury of six months of political process while the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate. I accept the collective institutional responsibility for that failure." Then, in front of live Television, she got on her knees and kowtowed to the cameras. "We will answer every question. We will conduct a full review. But we will do so while we work to ensure the safety of the citizens."
"My responsibility is to ensure continuity of command until the situation stabilizes. Hence, effective immediately," she continued, "the Commission is accelerating the Provisional Licensing Exam for all registered hero schools. We are also enacting the Auxiliary Deployment Protocol. Japan has experienced a lot, but we can only continue to ask for your trust as we wade through this difficult time, and not let the villains win."
The line went dead silence. "She's not stepping down."
"No," Nezu replied. "And neither the Cabinet nor the National Police Agency wants her to. Removing her now would create a vacuum at the exact moment the country can least afford one."
"It won't hold indefinitely," Aizawa said.
"No," Nezu agreed. "But it doesn't need to. For the NPA, it just needs to hold long enough for the Commission to rebuild enough functional capacity that her removal becomes less catastrophic. Three months, perhaps four." He paused. "By which point the Diet hearings will have their own momentum and she'll be managing a different kind of pressure." This was inevitable. Even if within this timeframe, the league of villains were caught, all escapex convicts were captured and even more was done, there was no turning this tide.
Unless of course, she became the next All Might and fought an earth shattering battle to save Japan from an enemy in the league of All For One. If such a ludicrous possibility could happen, Nezu would personally vote to reinstate her on the spot. "What concerns me more is what she does with the time she's bought. The licensing acceleration she mentioned is real. She needs visible action and she needs it quickly. The provisional exam timeline is going to move."
"How soon?"
"Sooner than the original schedule. I've already received informal signals from the Commission's Minato office. The legal framework for that already exists under emergency protocols." Nezu paused. "I've pushed back. I'll continue to push back. But I want you to understand the direction of travel."
In the coming weeks, numerous things would most likely change. Just then, a branch snapped behind Aizawa. "Hey, Eraser!" Pixie-Bob called from the clearing. "You done? Class 1-B is here!"
He looked toward the sound. Vlad King's column was emerging from the eastern path — Class 1-B filing into the main clearing.
"I have to go," Aizawa said. "I'll call if anything changes."
"I know you will," Nezu replied. "Take care of them, Eraser." The line went dead. Aizawa slipped his phone back into his pocket and turned toward the waiting students. Meanwhile, at UA High school – SMALL CONFERENCE ROOM, FACULTY WING –
Tsukauchi sat across from All Might with a folder open and a pensive expression. The video of the HPSC press conference was also playing as well. Finally, when it ended, All Might turned off the screen, face looking rather gloomy. "She'll get what's come to her Toshi." Tsukauchi comforted.
"I know." All Might let out a sigh. "Nevermind that now, let's get back to work."
"Right." Tsukauchi said. "As of now, the League's current composition is unknown. Shigaraki is confirmed at large. Our last confirmed sighting was Kanagawa, the night of the Tokyo engagement. Since then, nothing traceable." He turned a page. "Kurogiri's status remains officially unknown to the public. The NPA position is that he was involved in the convoy attack and his current whereabouts are under investigation."
"What about the body stolen from the decoy truck?"
"No clue. According to official reports, Slidin Go was the only survivor. He said the criminals who attacked weren't any officially known members of the league of villains, though most did wear prison clothing. Though that doesn't make sense unless the League coordinated simultaneous attacks. Though it's a bit odd that Kurogiri showed up at one but not the other." Tsukauchi killed the folder. "If the league knew one was a decoy but wasn't sure which one, Kurogiri showing up at one does seem a bit weird."
"I see." All Might replied. "Do you suspect a third party?"
"It can't really be ruled out, can it. Now who knows what we're up against." Just then, his phone vibrated on the table. He looked at the screen. The number had an international prefix and a saved name he recognized immediately.
He looked at Tsukauchi. "Give me a moment."
Tsukauchi closed the folder and stood without being asked. Toshinori answered. "David."
"Toshi." The voice on the other end was David Shield's. American-accented, warmly familiar. "I've been trying to reach you since the night it happened. Your line kept going to voicemail."
"I know. I'm sorry." Toshinori looked at the window. "I've been ..."
"I know what you've been." David said, his voice losing its usual easy warmth. "And that is precisely why I'm calling." Toshinori lowered himself into his chair, resisting the urge to sigh.
On the other end of the line, he could hear the faint hum of machinery. David was in one of his laboratories. "I watched the footage," David continued.
"I know. The entire world probably has by now." .
"I honestly can't believe it. You explained your symptoms to me via mail but ... I didn't think it would be this bad."
David looked at the scans going over the model of All Might in his computer screens while constantly running simulations. "We should have brought you in for testing months ago. Unfortunately, things have progressed to this point so we have to make do now. I need full body scan with the to figure out a way to reverse this effect. What time can you get here?" All Might on the other end stiffened. Then sighed.
"David… I'm not coming to I-Island."
There was a brief pause.
"What?"
"I appreciate the offer," Toshinori replied. "More than you know. But I can't leave Japan right now."
"That's absurd and you know it." David's voice rose immediately. "Toshi, this isn't me inviting you over for dinner. I'm telling you that if there is any chance of restoring your condition, I need you here, in my lab, with proper diagnostic equipment." Toshinori closed his eyes.
That was precisely the issue. All Might's close companions were few. Before this, those who knew about his injury were fewer. And those who knew about the secret of One For All were even less. David shield belonged to the second tier. Even now, he still didn't know that there was no condition to restore. The injury had weakened him, but the loss of One For All wasn't something that could be fixed. The power was already passed on and he had already exhausted everything.
"It's gone, David." A moment of silence followed.
"What do you mean, gone."
"I mean it's gone." Toshinori replied. "What I had, the power .... it's gone. Completely."
"That's ..." David stopped. "That's not possible. The kind of power you had, the physiology it creates .... it doesn't just disappear, Toshi. There has to be a mechanism. There has to be something we can ..."
"There isn't." He said it again. "I'm asking you to trust me on this. I can't explain the specifics. I wish I could. But I need you to understand that whatever you're hoping the island's equipment will find ... It won't find it."
David said nothing for several seconds. In the background, Toshinori could hear the low electronic hum. If there was anyone in the world who could look at a problem and believe it still had a solution, it was David Shield. All Might probably knew David has a lot of questions. However, this wasn't something that could be talked over the phone. When he finally spoke, his tone had returned to normal. "…You're serious."
"Yes."
David exhaled slowly through his nose. "Your injury worsened to the point that you can no longer maintain your hero form. That much I understand."
"I can't explain it properly," Toshinori said at last. "It's too sensitive to say over the phone and could possibly create complications for others. But please believe me when I say this: what I lost cannot be rebuilt by medicine, machinery, or engineering." On the other end of the line, David's chair creaked as he leaned back. "As for coming to the Island, I can't now. Even if i don't have my former power, Japan still needs me."
David sighed. He had heard about the reason for all this. Just four hours without him and the country was reduced to this state. There was no way All Might would agree to leave in a short time. Not untill Japan was settled.
"I already canceled Melissa's preparations for your visit after everything happened. She was disappointed, but she understood. We were both under the impression that once things settled, you would come here so we could assess the damage."
"I'm sorry."
"You don't owe me an apology for getting hurt." David let out a long breath. "…Is this really your final decision?"
Toshinori looked toward the conference room door, beyond which Tsukauchi was undoubtedly waiting with new reports.
"Yes."
Hearing this, David sighed her again. Honestly, he had never felt as exhausted as he was now. "All right. I won't force you onto a plane."
Relief and guilt arrived together.
"Thank you."
"That doesn't mean I'm convinced."
Toshinori blinked.
"David—"
"I trust your reasons. I do not trust your conclusion."
A reluctant smile touched Toshinori's lips.
"That sounds like you."
"Good." David's voice softened. "Take care of yourself."
"I will."
The call disconnected. Toshinori lowered the phone and sat still for several moments, staring at his own reflection in the darkened screen.
On the other end, Thousands of kilometers away, on I-Island, David Shield remained seated in front of a wall of glowing monitors. The call had ended, but he continued staring at the waveform data and simulation models rotating across the screens.
Gone. He replayed the word in his mind. Scientifically, it was a meaningless answer. Energy did not simply vanish. Biological systems did not discard fundamental capabilities overnight without leaving measurable traces. And Toshinori Yagi ... stubborn, self-sacrificing Toshinori Yagi. .. was many things, but he was not a man prone to melodrama.
Which meant one of two things.
Either Toshinori truly believed there was no solution.
Or he was protecting a secret too important to share.
David leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled beneath his chin. Neither possibility changed the same underlying fact. His friend was in Japan. Severely weakened. Surrounded by national instability and active threats.
And David was sitting half a world away. A soft knock sounded on the lab door.
Before he could respond, it slid open and Melissa Shield stepped inside carrying a neatly packed lunchbox.
"Dad?"
She paused when she saw his expression.
"I thought you might forget to eat again."
David blinked, then smiled faintly. "An astute observation. I almost did."
She set it down and sat, pulling her knees up slightly. Melissa's eyes swept the surroundings, saw the phone as well as the schematic on the monitor. "Uncle Toshinori?"
"I just spoke with him."
"How is he?"
David looked at the photograph on the desk. At the younger Toshinori, laughing at something just out of frame.
"He says he's managing." He paused. "Which from him, could really mean anything."
Melissa was quiet for a moment. "Is he going to come to the island?"
"No." David looked at the schematic. "He won't leave Japan right now." Maybe Toshinori was right. Maybe whatever had happened was beyond what any instrument could see.
However, David was a man of science. Despite what his friend had said, there would always be that lingering doubt in his mind, that maybe Toshinori simply didn't know the full picture of his own condition. It had happened before. Pride had a way of filtering what a person allowed themselves to acknowledge about their own limits.
Toshinori was the same, but pride wasn't the driving force for him.
Perhaps he would have also let it be, had he not had 'That' locked away in possession. The Quirk amplifier. Even if Toshinori was truly right, as long as there was a silver of anything left, which from his view and Toshinori's own emails, there most certainly was as he simply couldn't hold his muscle form for any significant number of time.
Then all Toshinori needed was his device. With that, he would be fully capable of returning to his peak ... with some adjustments after getting the proper numbers. David was confident in his ability to achieve this. He had long since prepared to give this to All Might. However the initial plan was to take place doing the I Island expo in less than two months time. The process now would have to change, but the end result would be the same.
He looked back at the monitors, then to the packed equipment lists already forming in his mind.
Portable scanners. Metabolic analyzers. Structural imaging systems. Not as comprehensive as the full facilities of I-Island, but sufficient to gather the data he needed.
He came to a decision.
"Melissa."
"Yes?"
"I'm going to Japan."
__
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